New types of 100% mortgages have been launched to help people buy a house without a deposit. We look at the pros & cons.
With 100% mortgages, you borrow the entire value of the home you want to buy – rather than having to save the minimum 5% deposit up-front.
Before 2008’s financial crash, 100% mortgages were common and some lenders offered more than the property was worth, up to 125% LTV. However, some people who took out these mortgages are still trapped in their homes which they cannot sell because they have fallen into negative equity.
And in the tightening of lending following the crash, 100% mortgages disappeared, with the exception of guarantor mortgages.
However, this has since changed: In 2023, Skipton Building Society launched a 100% LTV mortgage for people with a track record of renting. The lender later launched a shared ownership version of this mortgage.
And in May 2025, the Dutch owned April mortgages launched a 100% mortgage for people prepared to fix their rate for 10 or 15 years. Read on for more details on these.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
With a 100% mortgage, you borrow the full value of the property and don’t need a deposit. However, the 100% mortgages currently available work differently depending on which deal you take out.
Skipton Building Society’s 100% LTV Track Record Mortgage is designed to help renters buy a property without needing a deposit if they have a proven track record of paying rent.
The Skipton 100% mortgage is available as a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.37% and available at 95%-100% LTV. This means you can take it out with up to a 5% deposit. But there are some strict criteria to meet including:
Additional criteria to meet
The Track Record Mortgage was originally designed for first time buyers but the criteria was later changed and people who haven’t owned a property in the UK in the last 3 years can now also apply.
In September 2024, more changes were made including allowing Track Record mortgages on new build flats and increasing the maximum mortgage term from 35 to 40 years. The lender has also launched a 100% Shared Ownership Track Record mortgage – click here to jump to more details on this.
In May 2025, mortgage lender April launched a 100% mortgage. It’s set up differently to the Skipton offer and while it doesn’t require a history of renting, it does require borrowers to fix their interest rate, starting at 5.99%, for 10 or 15 years.
If you’re considering taking out one of these 100% mortgages, make sure you get expert advice first. Speak to award-winning fee-free mortgage brokers L&C who will be able to help you.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
An easy way to see how much your repayments will be if you take out a 100% mortgage is to use an online mortgage calculator.
See how much your repayments would be with these worked examples. These show how much your monthly mortgage payments would cost in the initial term if you took out the loan over 30 years. It doesn’t take into account any fees that may apply.
Mortgage amount | Monthly mortgage amount on Skipton’s 5.37% deal | Monthly mortgage amount on April’s 5.99% deal |
---|---|---|
£200,000 | £1,119 | £1,198 |
£300,000 | £1,679 | £1,797 |
£400,000 | £2,239 | £2,396 |
David Hollingworth at L&C Mortgages says, “We know that borrowers struggle to pull together the big deposits that are so often required to buy in the current market. April’s new deal will add another option to those that have strong affordability but can’t amass a deposit, whilst meeting high rents and living costs.
“Borrowers will need to evidence their ability to meet mortgage payments. In addition, they should think about the higher potential for negative equity if property prices were to fall.
“Negative equity becomes a problem for those that need to sell, crystallising any loss. The stability of a fixed rate will provide shelter from fluctuating interest rates, which could help them ride out a dip in prices.”
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
The main advantage of 100% mortgages is that you can buy a house without needing to save a deposit first. Buying a home has become increasingly difficult: research by Skipton Building Society found eight in 10 tenants feel ‘trapped’ in the rental cycle. So taking out a 100% mortgage could mean getting on the property ladder sooner.
The sooner you buy a house and start paying off your mortgage, the sooner you’ll build equity in the property, assuming it doesn’t drop in value. If you take out Skipton’s 100% mortgage, you’ll then hopefully be able to remortgage onto a better deal once your fixed deal ends. While with April’s 100% mortgage, you’ll get automatically switched onto better rates as you build equity in your home and your loan to value improves.
Use this handy calculator to see what your LTV is
The April 100% mortgage allows you to make unlimited overpayments and move house within your term without needing to pay an early repayment charge.
But there are some potential pitfalls. So if you’re asking ‘Can I buy a house without a deposit in the UK?’ and think 100% mortgages are the answer, you should consider the pros and cons carefully first.
100% mortgages are a higher risk to the lender so rates are higher than if you can save at least a 5% deposit.
5 year fixed rate mortgages: 100% LTV vs 95% LTV
10 year fixed rate mortgages 100% vs 95% LTV
Also, while April says your mortgage rate will go down as your LTV improves, you may still pay more than you could get elsewhere. For example, if your loan to value is 95%, April currently offers a rate of 5.90%, which is higher than Virgin Money’s rate of 5.29% for a 95% mortgage on a 10 year fix.
If you take out a 100% mortgage, you’re more likely to fall into negative equity – this is when the market value of your property is less than the mortgage you have secured on it.
However, the longer you’ve been paying your mortgage for, the more equity in it you will own (assuming your house’s value doesn’t fall drastically).
The length of Skipton and April’s deals aim to reduce the risk of negative equity. But to cut the risk of negative equity further, it’s a good idea to make overpayments on your mortgage if possible. Find out more in our guide What can I do about negative equity?
KEY INFORMATION
Your risk of falling into negative equity may be greater if you buy a new build home. This is because new build homes often dip in value in the early years after moving in. This is why lenders often require a bigger deposit for new build mortgages and you may need an even bigger deposit if you’re buying a new build flat than a new build house.
So think carefully before taking out a 100% mortgage on a new build property.
When Skipton launched its 100% mortgage, the idea was that in theory that at the end of the 5 year term you should have enough equity to remortgage onto a cheaper deal.
However, if your house falls in value you’ll have less equity, plus you may need to pay remortgage fees also, noone knows how common 95% LTV mortgages will be in 5 years’ time.
But now that the lender is offering a maximum term of 40 years, if you take out a mortgage for this length of time, it’s a different picture:
So you will need your home to increase in value over the mortgage term in order to remortgage. However, as the term is 5 years that gives a decent amount of time for that to hopefully happen.
Tying into a longer term deal can mean facing high early repayment charges.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
Here at the HomeOwners Alliance, we have compiled the best mortgage lenders, based on how competitive their mortgage rates have been in recent months, as well as the size of the lender based on figures from UK Finance, and popularity with our readers.
Skipton Building Society, which offers a 100% mortgage, is on our current list of the best mortgage lenders. Find more in our guide to the best mortgage lenders. However, our reviews are our opinion and do not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances. To get tailored advice, speak to an expert mortgage broker.
Skipton Building Society launched a 100% Shared Ownership Track Record mortgage in 2024. This is a 5 year fixed rate mortgage but comes with a higher rate, currently 5.62%.
At HomeOwners Alliance, while we appreciate this mortgage may help people buy a home, think carefully before proceeding:
The easiest way to apply for a 100 per cent mortgage in the UK is by speaking to a fee-free mortgage broker. They’ll be able to advise you on whether you meet the lender’s criteria for 100% mortgages and also if any more suitable products are available.
When thinking about how much deposit you need to buy a house, you will typically need a minimum 5% deposit. If you can save up for a 5% deposit or more, you will have a greater choice of lenders and may be able to access cheaper rates too. But if this isn’t possible, it’s still worth saving as much of a deposit when taking out a 100% mortgage as possible. Even by putting in 3% you will at least have a small amount of equity in your home that you can build on.
Saving for a house deposit seem like an impossible task? Then make sure you get all the help you can.
Yes. Whenever you apply for a mortgage, the lender will look at your credit rating and the better it is, the more likely it is that you will be accepted by a lender. Plus, you may be able to borrow more and at better rates too.
Whether 100% mortgages are a good idea for you will depend entirely on your circumstances. If you can comfortably afford the repayments and can ideally make overpayments on your mortgage you may feel it’s the ideal way to get on the property ladder. Plus you may feel that even if house prices do drop in the near future that they will have recovered by five years’ time. It is best to get advice tailored to your circumstances from a fee-free mortgage broker – speak to the award-winning mortgage brokers at L&C today.
An important first step is to work out how much you can afford to borrow on a mortgage, this will depend on things like how much you earn and your outgoings. Find out more in our guide How much mortgage can I afford to borrow?
No. There aren’t any no deposit mortgage government schemes. You may have heard of the ‘mortgage guarantee scheme’ however this isn’t something you specifically apply for – its purpose is to stimulate lenders to offer 95% LTV deals. But it’s worth noting that many lenders don’t rely on the scheme for their 95% deals.
There are other types of no deposit mortgages that work in a different way.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
If you can’t afford to save a 5% deposit, what are the alternatives to 100% mortgages in the UK? A couple of options include:
100% mortgages were common before the 2008 financial crash, and some lenders would offer as much as 125% of the value of the property. However while 100% mortgages disappeared after the crash they came back on the market in 2023. But you will be able to get more choice of lenders and access to better rates if you can save a 5% deposit or more. Find out more in our monthly Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Rates.
LTV stands for loan-to-value ratio and tells you what percentage of the home’s value is borrowed. For example, if you buy a £200,000 house and you put down zero deposit your LTV is 100%. But if you put down a £10,000 deposit your LTV would be 95%. Read our guide Mortgages Made Easy which cuts through the jargon to explain the mortgage process to you.
No. You will always need a deposit or equity in your home for an interest-only mortgage. Read more in our guide What is an interest-only mortgage?
No you can’t get 100% Buy to Let mortgages. You will always need to put down a deposit. Plus the deposits for Buy to Lets are usually higher than for a traditional mortgage. You’ll usually need at least a 20% deposit. Read more in our guide Buy to Let mortgages explained.
It may be possible to get a mortgage with an LTV over 100% if you’re in negative equity as a few specialist lenders do offer this type of mortgage. Rates can be high though and it’s important to get expert mortgage advice if you find yourself in this situation.
Getting mortgages for bad credit will always depend on your circumstances including what your credit issues were and how recent. So you should speak to a fee-free mortgage broker about your options.
While you may be able to get a 100 percent LTV mortgage to buy a house you will still need money for other costs relating to your purchase such as the cost of conveyancing fees, stamp duty (if applicable) and the cost of a survey. Find out more in our guide on the Costs of buying a house.
HomeOwners Alliance Ltd is registered in England, company number 07861605. Information provided on HomeOwners Alliance is not intended as a recommendation or financial advice.
Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), Unit 26 (2.06), Newark Works, 2 Foundry Lane, Bath BA2 3GZ, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
HomeOwners Alliance Ltd is an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of Seopa Ltd, for home insurance, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN: 313860).
HomeOwners Alliance Ltd is an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of LifeSearch Limited, an Appointed Representative of LifeSearch Partners Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. (FRN: 656479).
Independent Financial Adviser service is provided by Unbiased, who match you to a fully regulated, independent financial adviser, with no charge to you for the referral.
Bridging Loan and specialist lending service provided by Chartwell Funding Limited, registered office 5 Badminton Court, Station Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 5HZ, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 458223). Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any debt secured on it.